Questions tagged [culture]
文化. Where the linguistic aspects of Japanese culture and the cultural aspects of the Japanese language overlap.
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How do Japanese speakers transition from polite to plain form amongst friends?
When you first meet somebody, polite language is, on the whole, the most commonly used form of Japanese. Children may differ, and I understand that not everyone will use plain form, but regardless a ...
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Is it ok for non-japanese to refer to themselves as 僕{ぼく} and if not why?
Grammatically speaking it shouldn't be an issue, but I have heard from some people that a non-japanese using 僕{ぼく} sounds really weird. Has anyone else heard this? And if so, is there a reason?
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Will verbal irony and sarcasm be understood and/or appreciated?
It's a topic of debate to what extent Japanese has sarcasm and irony. In any case, Japanese speakers seem to use a whole lot less of it than English speakers.
My question is: whether or not Japanese ...
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Getting your haircut in Japan
I have been living in Japan now for the last 3 months and my hair is starting to look like it needs a cut.
But I have never been to a Japanese barbers before so as you can imagine I am a little ...
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Is the word ハーフ derogatory?
Is the term ハーフ (mixed-race Japanese/other) derogatory? Can you use it in a newspaper article? Can you use it to describe your boss? If it is derogatory, what word(s) should one use instead?
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Is it proper to thank waitstaff, cashiers, etc. for their service?
In my Japanese class we were taught that one does not need to thank a cashier when they check you out or a server when they bring you your meal, but I always feel awkward remaining silent. Was my ...
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Why are some words written backwards on trucks
I was driving the other day and saw a truck with 一般 written as 般一 on the drivers side door. My wife was telling me that this is often the case with trucks, where it is actually written from right to ...
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What are the stereotypical qualities of a gaijin trying to speak/write Japanese to a Japanese person?
There are plenty of stereotypical qualities of a Japanese speaking person trying to speak English, so, would I be correct in assuming the reverse is also the case, and if so, what would the most ...
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How commonly are "あたし" or "[僕]{ぼく}" used?
My friend and I are learning Japanese. For a time, all we knew was 私, but after we learned more words, she started to use あたし when referring to herself, and I began using 僕. What I'm wondering is, how ...
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Are there any terms used to refer to people of the anime/manga fandom in a non-derogatory manner?
In the Western world, anime/manga fans are commonly referred to as otaku (Hiragana: おたく, Katakana: オタク). [1] In Japanese however, this is a (mildly) derogatory word for a geek, nerd, or any person who ...
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Is -さん used when referring to a celebrity or historical figures?
When referring to a celebrity or historical figure, do you use -さん?
I am listening to Yoko Shimomura.
Would it be:"下村陽子さんを聞いている。"?
Abraham Lincoln is my favorite president.
Would it be: "...
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Address someone by their first name, or their last name?
When addressing John Doe, would you say "John-さん", or "Doe-さん"?
Does it depend on how polite or formal you're being? Does it also depend on whether the person is a nihonjin, a kankokujin (who have ...
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What does rubbing a finger under one's nose mean?
Ash Ketchum sometimes does this:
I'm sure this macro is simply ignorant of some Japanese body language he's using. Another example is here:
I can't recall any other anime character who does ...
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What are the general patterns of child-directed speech in Japanese?
In English, parents usually talk to their kids differently from how they usually talk. The words they use when doing so usually ends in -y. For example, "kitten" becomes "kitty", "I" usually turns ...
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What to say after someone dies
What is the proper response when someone tells you, for example, that their mother has died? Relatedly, what should you do to express your sympathy? Do you send a card? flowers? bake a casserole?
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What do you mean, "In Japanese there are no words for "I’m suffering""?
Today I noticed this article about eating disorders in Japan, which I got to via the News on Japan site.
The first line jumps out at me. Supposedly, in an interview, a 25 year old Japanese woman ...
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How would I respectfully disagree with a superior?
If my manager says something that I know to be factually incorrect, how can I point that out without sounding disrespectful? (Is ~違います appropriate in this context or is that too strong?)
Is this a ...
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Did the Japanese have a concept of "Asia" apart from the Eurocentric definition?
Japan had contact with China, India and the Mongols, among others. Is there a term they used for Asia (in the sense of "land mass where China is" or such) before "アジア"?
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What is that thing yelled in Japanese when starting something?
When starting some activity, I've heard something like 'Se..inou... ' (I'm not sure what are the specific words for this). The context for this word I'd think is pretty much the same as when saying 1,...
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Younger uncles and aunts
If you are older than your uncle or aunt, do you still address them as 叔母さん or 叔父さん? I see no reason why you wouldn't, but I recall once seeing a description saying that family titles are only used ...
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When angry we shout "F***!", but what do 日本人 shout?
I have to ask, when you kick a Japanese boy in the nuts or whatever, ignoring the obvious sounds a human makes when entering into such a state, what bits of language will they impulsively shout in ...
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How to define 羨ましい?
羨【うらや】ましい!
You're so lucky!/ I envy you!/ I'm jealous of you!
As I learned it, 羨ましい as an exclamation does not carry much of a negative context, so perhaps a combination of these three ...
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Why are Japanese fonts different to Chinese?
I’ve noticed that Japanese and Chinese writing tends to use different fonts. Japanese fonts tend use wider lines and more curves. Chinese fonts tend to use narrow angular lines and there are ...
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日本のテレビを見ると、サブタイトルがいつも出てきます。でもサブタイトルじゃなくて。。。何と言いますか？
日本のテレビを見ると、サブタイトルがいつも出てきます。でもサブタイトルじゃなくて。。。何と言いますか？
what does one call Japanese "subtitles" that constantly appear in Japanese television and to a lesser extent movies? I'm referring to a sentence ...
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How are twins addressed by their teacher at school?
If two twin brothers attended the same class, how would their teacher address each of them to indicate to whom they were speaking to, since they shared the same family name?
Would one be seen as the ...
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How should I bid farewell to a superior?
My boss is leaving soon after years of service. What would be a good way for me to express my gratitude for all of his guidance and help?
I am somewhat familiar with the expression お世話になりました but am ...
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The radical "貝" and its relation to economic characters such as "貨" "資" etc
Preface
My recent trip to Japan allowed me to see many Chinese characters i.e., Kanji (漢字) and one thing that caught my attention was an extensive use of the radical "貝"(かい) on words/characters ...
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Does the (USA) English metaphor "Unable to see the forest for the trees" keep its meaning if translated verbatim into Japanese?
The phrase "Unable to see the forest for the trees" implies one is too entangled in a situation to understand what is transpiring from a larger context, and thus, unable to determine the correct ...
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What are the reasons for the huge amount of loanwords in Japanese?
It seems that Japanese has far more loanwords than any other language I've heard spoken. I understand that English is far-reaching and a global language, but are there many known reasons that English ...
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How rude is it to speak to a Japanese stranger informally instead of using the polite form?
Are there any native Japanese here that could tell me how rude it is to speak informally to Japanese people I have never met instead of using the polite form? I'm assuming it's more rude the older the ...
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Are there any issues with sexism in the Japanese language?
The only example I can think of/that I know of at the moment that has ever been of controversy with regard to sexism in Japanese was the change from 看護婦 to 看護師. I'm sure there are probably many more ...
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Are there names like ワンコイン for the other coins?
So ワンコイン refers to a 500円 coin, but is there other names for the other coins?
Also in conversation does ワンコイン refer to any specific currency or only to 500 yen (as in the sense of being a default).
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How to express "being sorry" as a sympathetic feeling?
I'm surprised this question hasn't been asked already so in case I just missed it in my searches please point me to it.
Is there a general way to express "being sorry" not when apologizing of course, ...
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What was the origin for the term 水{みず}色{いろ} to be associated with youth, adolescence and puberty?
I am particularly interested in the phrase 「水{みず}色{いろ}時{じ}代{だい}」. Did it come from the old manga that used the phrase as its title, or has the phrase been carrying that particular cultural connotation ...
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How to address and greet Japanese people in an english email [closed]
I am aware that in Japanese it is considered to be rude to address other people with just their first name, but I wonder if this is only true for communication in Japanese, of if this still holds true ...
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How would you express the sentiment of "Happy New Era" [duplicate]
Something like 良いお時代を。? Or would you specifically say 令和?
If not that, what would be a literal English translation?
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Heisig story #30 (Nightbreak) 旦, shouldn't it mean "daybreak" instead?
I believe that the tittle already covers my question, but I will explain it better here.
When I was reading the Heisig book (Remembering the Kanji, the sixth edition I believe) I came across the ...
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What is the implication when a girl refers to herself using "うち"? Is it meant to be more or less feminine? Neutral? Tomboyish?
I realize it is a kind of Kansai-ben but how does it compare to the other forms of "I" in terms of how they want to represent themselves?
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Is まい as in あるまい really only used in literary texts or TV?
My understanding --admittedly limited-- is that in Japanese, people say as much as they can with as little words as possible. So I wondered why ないだろう would be used in everyday speaking instead of まい? ...
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Calling someone older brother/sister and the implications on relationships
If a Japanese person calls you older brother/sister(お兄さん, お姉さん), in addition to implying closeness, does it also mean that they are implying a platonic relationship?
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What does it say on my Japanese alarm clock? [closed]
I bought an alarm clock (good clocks with AA batteries instead of button-like) with Japanese characters and found it difficult to understand, even with a dictionary. Could someone explain what is ...
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Other than はじめまして, what can we say in our introduction?
Other than はじめまして, what else can we say at the beginning of our introduction when meeting someone for the first time? Also, what else do we need to say when introducing ourselves other than our name ...
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Please help me understand [予習]{よ・しゅう}
tl;dr
The word 予習 is strange to me. Is its usage related to cultural difference? Does the user's knowledge of the material have something to do with it?
I've always had trouble understanding what ...
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How I address a juniour colleague is different from how I refer to the colleague around the colleague's sibling?
From S02E10 of the anime adaptation of the manga The Quintessential Quintuplets:
Above, Miku Nakano (left) is a younger identical quintuplet of Yotsuba Nakano (right). Miku and Yotsuba are high ...
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The Quintessential Quintuplets: You can't address your parents chichi/haha, but can you refer to your parents as oyaji/otou-san/okaa-san?
According to Yuta (whom I heard is apparently not well regarded in the subreddit r/learnjapanese but eh) in How Anya Speaks Japanese (Spy x Family): You can't address your parents as chichi/haha. ...
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Kaguya-sama: Changing the way you address someone without your relationship having changed
Question:
Is it common in Japanese to (temporarily? permanently?) change the way you address to someone even if your relationship has not changed because of certain intent say, you want to intimidate ...
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What are the special coins and notes used that honor the Olympics and the new Emperor called? [duplicate]
I understand that some new Olympic and Imperial coins/notes are being introduced into general circulation. I just want to know what these special Olympic and new Emperor coin/notes would be called.
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How would you address a younger step-parent / older step-child?
Like this but way more insane: Younger uncles and aunts (But I believe this sorta happened in House of the Dragon, prequel / spin-off of of Game of Thrones)
Let's say widow Viserys Tanaka had ...
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